Brassiere



A. A. CLARK June 16, 1942.

BRAssIfiRE Filed Aug. 9, 1940 INVENTOR AGNES A. (IA/PK ATTORNEYS--Patented June 16, 1942 NlTED STATES PATEN T o Fel ce 2286,601:ZBRASSIERE Agnes A. Clark, Englewood, N. J. Application August- 9,1940, "Sel'ial No. 351941 3 Claims.

My invention relatesto a garment of-the bras- 'siere type.

It'is a known fac'tthat many'illsoi or attributable tothe'breasts' arecaused byunn'at'ur'al pressures applied *to the breasts by various"types of 'brassieres. corselettes "and similar garments.

It 'is'anob'ject of'theinv'entionto provide an improved form"ofbrass'iere which will "adequately support the breasts without harmfulpressures thereon.

A more specific object is to provide a brassire with "means for'supportingthe breasts "from' beneath and without 'undue pressures.

"Another object is taprovide a brassire so formed as 'to'provide abreast pocket'h'aving a generally horizontally extending "lower breastsupporting portion.

It is another object to "provide a bra'ss'i'ere having breast pocketshaving an extensible portion therein for adequately "yet comfortablysupporting the breasts.

Another object is to provide a 'brassiere having breast pockets withstiffened supporting-portions at the lower side forsupportingthe'breasts adjacent the body.

In general the object is to provide 'anirnp'roved form of brassiere foradequately, comfortably and safely supporting the breasts, particularlyvery heavy breasts.

In the drawing which shows, for illustrative purposes only, a preferredform of the invention Fig. 1 is a side view in elevation of a brassiereapplied to the body and illustrating features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view in elevation of the brassiere shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of the brassire notapplied; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the brassiere applied tothe body.

The invention may be embodied in various forms and in the illustratedform shown the brassiere includes a back section 5 and a front sectionsecured thereto along a generally vertical line 6. It will, of course,be understood that the brassiere may be either a front, side or rearopening type. The brassire preferably includes a waist band I to fitabout the waist of the wearer and to which are secured the lower edgesof the rear and front sections constituting the body portion of thebrassire.

The front section includes breast pockets and since such breast pocketsare duplicates of each other a description of one will suffice for both.

Each breast pocket is so formed as "to provide 'a"substantial pocketwith'a generallyhorizontal- -1y extending lower supporting portion andan upper breast coveringportion. The front sec- 'tions may be formed ofseparate "gores secured to each other'or "the material "may 'be tuckedso as to, in effect, form gored sections to "provide the desired form ofbreast pocket. "In the formillustrated each breast pocket sectioninemdesa lower piece of material 8, which may be'provid'ed withatapering tuck 9 at each side and above that tapering tucks I0, thetapersof the tucks being such 'that they are wider "at the rear wherethey join the vertical seam line '6 than at the front. These tucks andthe formation of theupper'ed'ge H "of the lower pocket section are such'that'the, tucks, in effect, "provide tapering gores withtheinwi'de'rportions at the rear and their narrower -portions at the front, so as"to form and shape the breast pocket. In the form shown the upper orbreast covering portion'of each pocket is formed of "a's'epa'rate pieceof material l2, out in generally a'rcuate formatthe bottomso as 'tofitthe u per arcuate edge "H ofthe section a alongthese'amli'ne f3. Thebreast-pocket thus formed either by stitching gores "together or byemploying "tacks in one '61 "more pieces'of 'ffiaterial is a breast"pocket "which preferably has an adequately projecting or generallyhorizontally extending lower supporting portion I4 and an upper contourdesignated generally I5, which simply covers the upper portion of thebreast without undue pressure thereon.

In order to assist in providing a breast pocket with a generallyhorizontally extending lower supporting portion as at M, such lowersection is preferably provided with gathers, as indicated generally atl6, and such gathers are preferably formed by shirring the lower centralportion I! of the pocket section 8. The shirring is preferably done withelastic thread, so that the section I! is laterally extensible to someextent. The gathering in or shirring of the section I1, it will beplain, provides a larger and more extensive pocket section above theshirring and the lateral extensibility of the shirred section providesfor a resilient yet adequate support for the breast. The shirred sectionII, which in some cases could be replaced by a separate piece of elasticmaterial, forms a relatively stiffened portion which serves toadequately support the breast from below in the breast pocket.

In Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawing only the r extreme upper part of thestiffening section is shown as extending outwardly, as at l8, forsupporting the underneath portion of the breast. However, with heavierbreasts the stiffened section I! may curve outwardly (at a considerablylower point than as shown in the drawing) to give added support. Infact, in extreme cases, the supporting section I! might start to curveoutwardly under the influence of the breast weight at a point, say,half-way down the section I! ,or possibly even lower.

The brassire may be formed of any suitable material such as thematerials of which brassieres are now usually made. In the illustratedform the two breast pocket portions are joined at the front to a centralvertical panel I9, but it will be clear that the panel l9 could beomitted and the front sections joined directly to each other. Shoulderstraps have been illustrated but the use of such straps is optional,since the brassiere is designed to adequately support the heavy breastswithout the aid of the usual shoulder straps. It will be apparent thatwith the breast sections formed as described and connected to the rearsection 5, pockets will be formed which will support the breasts frombelow without the need for shoulder straps and without any injuriouspressure.

In some cases it may be desirable to provide a shirred portion at thetop of each breast pocket to give a little more support, but as statedabove the brassire as shown has proven entirely satisfactory.

My improved brassire is particularly advantageous when worn by a womanhaving extremely heavy breasts which require support from beneath andwithout undue pressure thereon.

While the brassiere is particularly advantageous as a surgicalbrassiere, it is advantageous for general wear by women having veryheavy breasts requiring support from beneath and without undue pressure.

My improved brassiere tends to enhance the beauty of the figure alongnatural lines and yet without any harmful pressure on the breast, suchas is often occasioned by ordinary brassires Worn by very heavy women.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail and apreferred form illustrated, it is to be understood that various changesand modifications may be made within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a garment of the character indicated, front panels to cover thebreasts, the upper part of each front panel being made to include asubstantial breast pocket, the lower part of each front panel beingshirred at the zone just beneath each breast pocket, the lower part ofthe breast pocket and the upper part of said shirred zone mergingintegrally without a seam to provide a fullness in the lower part of thebreast pocket, said shirred zone further providing a stiifening areadirectly beneath the breast pocket extending substantially to the waistline of the garment.

2. In a garment of the character indicated, front panels to cover thebreasts, the upper part of each front panel being made to include asubstantial breast pocket, the lower part of each front panel beingshirred with generally horizontally extending rows of elastic threadstitches at the zone just beneath each breast pocket and downwardlytherefrom to provide a zone integral with the breast pocket, extendingsubstantially to the waist line of the garment, the upper part of saidzone merging with the lower part of the breast pocket, thereby providingresilient expansibility in the lower portion of the breast pocket andalso an integral stiffening means to assist in supporting the breasts.

3. A garment of the character indicated, in-

cluding a waist band, a pair of front panels to cover the breasts, theupper part of each front panel being made to include a breast pocket thebottom of which is vertically spaced from said waist band, the loweredges of said front panels being stitched to said waist band, the lowerpart of said front panels at the zone between said waist band andvertically spaced breast pocket and generally beneath the latter beingshirred, said shirred zone extending substantially to the Waist band, toprovide vertical stifiness for supporting the breasts and to provide afullness in the breast pocket, the lower part of the breast merging intothe upper part of the shirred zone without a seam.

AGNES A. CLARK.

